Omid Djalili
Since Winning His EMMA Award (Comedian)
Omid Djalili is a British Iranian Actor, Comedian, and Writer who has appeared in several mainstream films, including Alien Autopsy, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Grow Your Own, Mr Nice, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, and Sex and the City 2, to name a few.
Omid appeared as Nasim in the U.S. sitcom Whoopi, starring Whoopi Goldberg. He won an International Film Award for Best Supporting Actor in Casanova, where he starred alongside the late Heath Ledger and Jeremy Irons.
On 12th February 2009, Omid appeared as the second Fagin in the West End production of Oliver! At the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London. That same year, he became the voice of Yusuf Amir in the popular gaming series Grand Theft Auto, a role he reprised in 2023 for Grand Theft Auto 5.
In 2017, Omid appeared in Fiddler on the Roof at the Chichester Festival Theatre. He has been nominated for multiple awards, such as the Perrier Award for Best Comedian, the Gemini Award for Best Comedy Performance of 2003, the South Bank Award for Best Comedy of 2003, the Royal Television Society Award for Best Stand-up, and the European TV Award for Channel 4’s Dispatches episode Bloody Foreigners.
Omid’s energetic, charismatic presence and mixture of characterisation and cultural observations has won over many audiences worldwide.
Omid Djalili’s performances across Europe, America, Australia, and the Middle East have been critically acclaimed, cementing his status as one of the best live stand-up comedians.
Background (Before 2002)
Omid Djalili was born in Kensington, London. His mother was a dressmaker, and his father was a liaison officer at the Iranian embassy and a photographer whose pictures appeared in the newspaper Kayhan.
Omid first gained significant success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1995 with “Short, Fat Kebab Shop Owner’s Son”, followed by “The Arab and the Jew” with Jewish comedian Ivor Dembina in 1996.
Omid later appeared in mainstream films such as Gladiator, The Mummy, Mean Machine, Notting Hill, Spy Game and The World Is Not Enough.
